Technology and Telecommunications

Grab announced last Thursday that it was able to raise $1 billion in new funding for its foray into the Indonesian market which is considered to be an emerging battleground for tech firms looking to capture a population of over 250 million. The Singapore-based ride-hailing giant says it is looking to raise more funds, but did not specify how much. President Ming Maa added that the firm was seeing significant demand from investors globally, both financially and strategically. The firm, which is transforming itself into a consumer technology group, says that the fresh funds will be used to expand […]

Argentina’s Mendoza province last Tuesday passed the country’s first law regulating ride-sharing apps such as Uber. Uber had already been operating in Buenos Aires for more than two years despite prevailing court orders. However, Argentina’s Senate recently voted 24-14 in favor of allowing the firm to operate in the country’s fifth-largest province by population. Uber’s general manager for the southern cone region of South America, Mariano Otero, says that the law will take effect in August, allowing Uber to operate as early as September. Source: Reuters

A new study by Forrester Research suggest that 90% of blockchain initiatives currently active in the US will ultimately be abandoned. The grim prediction from the research firm also said that have been trying to implement distributed ledger technology (DLT) in their businesses are now scaling back. However, Forrester also said that companies with a deep understanding of the technology and its transformational potential are likely to persist. Bloomberg’s Ron Resnick also said that blockchain development will experience an uptick in 2019, while Hyperledger’s Brian Behlendorf says that the next wave of blockchain apps will not come from tech giants […]

Microsoft revealed this week that it will be including a new and exclusive Windows Hello authentication feature in its Edge browser in the latest Windows 10 Redstone 5 Fast Ring preview. WebAuthn, a W3C specification that allows users to sign in to websites using just a security key similar to Yubikey, is expected to give Edge users a faster and easier sign in experience to their frequently visited sites. Microsoft says that Hello will allows users to authenticate on any Windows 10 device, using biometrics instead of passwords. Users can also login to sites that support Web Authentication in seconds, […]

Thousands have reportedly downloaded the blueprint for a 3D printed gun within the 4 days that it had been uploaded on the Defense Distributed website, despite repeated attempts to have them taken down. President Donald Trump even tweeted about the issue, saying that it did not make much sense but he already spoke to the NRA about it. The controversy started back in 2013 when crypto-anarchist Cody Wilson came up with the world’s first 3D-printed gun which was made available on Defense Distributed’s website. However, US State Department issued an order to have them taken down which led to […]

KT and LG Uplus recently announced that they have proposed a global standard for quantum key distribution to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). In their first draft to the ITU’s Study Group 13, the companies included proposals for network structure and functionality for quantum key distribution, interface between network equipment, and service process technology. SK Telecom, which is set to submit quantum key security standards to the ITU’s Study Group 17, also reviewed the draft and contributed to the proposal. It was also reported that the three telcos and the South Korean government had already agreed to deploy 5G […]

A recent study commissioned by the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California found a number of inaccuracies with Amazon’s facial recognition technology which was said to have disproportionately put people of color at risk. During testing, Amazon’s Rekognition technology misidentified 28 members of Congress as people arrested for a crime. However, the technology is already being used by law enforcement in Oregon and Orlando. The ACLU said that the findings should prompt regulators to stop the use of face surveillance by law enforcement. Two months before the study, the Congressional Black Caucus had already written to Amazon saying that […]

Google’s director of cloud computing, Diane Greene, recently told in an interview that facial recognition technology still has inherent biases and does not yet have the diversity it needs. The comment came after Amazon’s software wrongly identified 28 members of Congress, disproportionately people of colour, as police suspects. Greene also said that Google is still improving the reliability of its facial recognition technology by gathering vast sums of data. While the firm’s technology is currently being used to help identify friends in pictures, it is still not open for public use. Source: BBC

Grab said last Friday that it disagrees with the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore’s assessment of its takeover deal with Uber, calling the watchdog’s decision a “double standard that goes against the spirit of increasing choices for drivers and riders.” The CCCS said in July that the Grab-Uber deal had harmed competition and pushed for the sale of Grab’s car-leasing businesses, as well as removing exclusivity obligations on drivers who use Grab’s ride-hailing platform. The antitrust body also proposed penalties for both firms. It is said that watchdog’s final decision could set a precedent that may affect other markets […]

A popular brand of wireless security camera, Swann, was recently found to have a vulnerability that could a hacker to hijack it and access its video and audio stream. The flaw, which was discovered after a user accidentally received another user’s recordings. Researchers said that they were able to recreate the vulnerability just by making a minor tweak to Swann’s Security app. The company and its Israeli cloud tech provider OzVision says the issue, which was only present in the SWWHD-Intcam or Swann Smart Security Camera, has already been fixed. However, it is said that the vulnerability may have caused […]

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This blog is the embodiment of a vision we have at Disini & Disini (D&D) of an IT empowered citizenry where we, as a people, harness information available through the internet to bridge the gaps where there may be lapses. As part of our advocacy, we take full advantage of the accessibility of cyberspace by developing this blog.